NationStates Jolt Archive

I would appreciate any constructive comments y'all can provide about the content (have I left something out?) or the format (are things in the right order?).

A Practical Guide to the NationStates United Nations

Introduction

This guide is intended to give players a basic grasp of the NationStates United Nations. Accordingly, I’ve structured this guide with a general audience in mind. The format consists of basic questions and the answers to them. This is not intended to be a guide for newbs or for experts. It is intended to be relatively concise and useful to the average player.

Disclaimer: This guide is not intended as an opinion piece. It is meant to be descriptive of the situation rather than being a prescriptive piece about what the NSUN should be. That said, any opinions expressed herein are my own, not those of Max Barry, the site Administrators, the Moderators, the region of Texas, or my fictional mother-in-law.

Table of Contents

A. What is the NationStates United Nations?
B. Why do we have the NationStates United Nations?
C. How does the NationStates United Nations relate to the NationStates game engine?
D. How do member nations use the NationStates United Nations?
E. How can I do those things?
F. Why join the NationStates United Nations?
G. Why resign from the NationStates United Nations?
H. How can I use the NSUN page?
I. What can I do when the NSUN passes a resolution that I don't like?[unfinished]

A. What is the NationStates United Nations?

The NSUN is an international legislative body that exists within the construct of the online political simulation game called NationStates.

B. Why do we have the NationStates United Nations?

Because Max Barry, the creator of the NationStates game and author of Jennifer Government, wanted to have it and decided to code it into the game.

C. How does the NationStates United Nations relate to the NationStates game engine?

1. The NSUN has a unique status among the thousands of international organizations in NationStates. It is part of the structure of the game, rather than being purely roleplayed like the other organizations. While the NSUN may involve a great deal of roleplay, that is not its entire focus.
2. When the membership of the NSUN passes a resolution, that resolution is coded into the game and alters the national statistics of all the nations whom are currently in the NSUN by moving them in the direction indicated by the category and other characteristics/variables of the resolution.

D. How do member nations use the NationStates United Nations?

There are many ways to use the NSUN. The individual items listed are rarely the sole focus of a member nation. Most members have multiple reasons for engaging in these activities and engage in several of the activities.

1. Effect Statistical Changes

Some players use the NSUN to get their national statistics the way they want them. The most common method of using the NSUN for this purpose is the resign/reapply approach. Member nations will resign when a proposal that would change their national statistics in a way that they don’t like reaches quorum and then reapply when a proposal that would change their national statistics in a way that they do like reaches quorum.

2. Gain/Maintain Power

Some players use the NSUN to gain or maintain in-game power. Because the UN Delegate of Founderless regions automatically has access to Regional Controls, including the Eject/Ban function and the World Factbook Entry, some nations will seek out the Delegate position in order to increase their own power and influence in the game. Once these nations have achieved the Delegateship, they might try to maintain their power by ejecting those UN member nations whose endorsement counts are above a certain number that they and/or their allies choose. Delegates of large regions can command huge numbers of votes in the NSUN, which is also a possible source of power and influence.

3. Effect Roleplayed Changes

Some players use the NSUN as a tool for roleplay. For those who actively roleplay their nation, the NSUN’s legislation can be used to start a new roleplay or inject new life into an old one by roleplaying the changes that occur in a nation or the life of the people in response to NSUN legislation. Others might use NSUN legislation to create additional bodies such as the IRCO or UNSC that are then roleplayed by interested players.

4. Debate Related Issues

Some players use the NSUN and the issues it addresses to debate. Often, regional message boards, the UN forum, and regional or organizational offsite forums are used to debate the merits (or lack thereof) of a piece of legislation that has been proposed to the NSUN or is up for vote. These debates can cover a multitude of philosophical, legal, ethical, and moral issues. Some players might become involved in the NSUN simply to join in the debates that occur over issues and legislation.

5. Promote An Ideology or Principle

Some players use the NSUN (its forum and its legislation) to promote an ideology, usually their own. Players have tried to use the NSUN to promote almost every ideology you can think of, including economic systems such as capitalism, socialism, and communism, political systems such as democracy, autocracy, or technocracy, and various others such as environmentalism, National Socialism, pluralism, or relativism. Some of them have even managed to succeed in promoting their ideology or principle.

E. How can I do those things?

It all depends on your own membership status. Some activities don’t require a membership status and others do. Some activities require very specific membership status (ie. Delegate).

1. Can I debate related issues?

You can join in the debates on the UN forum (and on most offsite regional or organizational forums) without being a Delegate or even a member of the NSUN. However, you should keep in mind that some people may question the relevance of your opinions if you are not a member.

2. Can I promote a principle or ideology?

You can promote a principle or ideology with or without membership in the NSUN. If you are in the NSUN, you can promote an ideology or principle by submitting proposals and/or passing a resolution. If you are not in the NSUN, you can still promote your ideology or principle by working with a person (or persons) who is a member to craft their proposals and resolutions in a way the suits your needs. As noted previously, you can join in debates without or without being a member and can promote your ideology or principle in that manner.

3. Can I gain and maintain power?

You can gain or maintain power if you are a regional UN Delegate, especially one in a large and/or Founderless region. You acquire this position by having the most number of endorsements in your region at the time of the update. If there is a tie in the number of endorsements between multiple (two or more) nations, the nation that has been in the region longest becomes the Delegate. Being a Delegate means that you have an extra vote on resolutions for each endorsement you have. Also, Delegates have the ability to Approve proposals in the proposals list and help them to reach quorum.

4. Can I effect roleplayed changes?

If you are a member, you can effect roleplayed changes by getting a resolution passed (which will then be roleplayed by many member nations in some form) and/or by establishing an organization with a resolution. If you are not a member, you can still effect these roleplayed changes by working on a proposal and getting another person who is in the NSUN to propose and pass it. Or you could simply roleplay compliance with all UN decisions despite not being a member. Due to the fact that free-form roleplay is practiced on the site, you can pretty much roleplay however you want. Just keep in mind that nobody will roleplay with you if you are too silly or annoying.

5. Can I effect statistical changes?

You can effect statistical changes by submitting a proposal and passing it as a resolution. You have to be a member of the NSUN to do this. If you are not a member of the NSUN, it is possible that you could help effect statistical changes by writing a proposal and having another person who is in the NSUN propose and pass it. However, the passage of the proposal would not affect you as a non-member.

F. Why join the NationStates United Nations?

Nations have many different reasons for joining the NSUN, and often a nation will have multiple reasons for joining. As mentioned before, some nations join because their national statistics will be changed in a way they like by an upcoming resolution. Other nations become concerned about or frustrated with the general direction the NSUN is going and join in order to change the direction of the NSUN. A few nations join simply because they were bored one day and decided to try it out. Other nations who are in a Founderless region might join the NSUN to help protect their region from invasion.

G. Why resign from the NationStates United Nations?

As with joining, Nations have many different reasons for resigning from the NSUN, and often a nation will have multiple reasons for resigning. As mentioned before, some nations resign because their national statistics will be changed in a way they don’t like by an upcoming resolution. Often, a nation will resign in protest of or in anger at a particular piece of NSUN legislation that they find particularly egregious for whatever reason. Other nations become concerned about or frustrated with the general direction the NSUN is going and resign because they no longer feel that the NSUN is of any benefit. A few nations simply become bored with and/or tired of the NSUN and leave. Other nations who were once in a Founderless region and had joined the NSUN to protect their region from invasion might leave the NSUN once the region has a Founder once more.

H. How can I use the NSUN page?

That depends on what you want to do and your membership status.

Whether you are member or not, you can use the NSUN page to view the list of passed resolutions and the list of current proposals. In addition, you can view the lists of all member nations or all Delegates. These two lists are often used for conducting telegram campaigns for or against proposals and resolutions.

If you are a member, you can use the NSUN page to vote on resolutions.

If you are a member and have at least two endorsements, you can use the NSUN page to vote on resolutions and submit proposals.

If you are a Delegate, you can use the NSUN page to vote on resolutions and approve proposals.

If you are a Delegate and have at least two endorsements, you can use the NSUN page to vote on resolutions, submit proposals, and approve proposals.

I. What can I do when the NSUN passes a resolution that I don't like?

There are a variety of ways to deal with the passage of a resolution you do not like. You may even do several of these things to address the resolution you don't like.

As noted before, you can resign from the NSUN before it passes to protect your nation from the statistical changes that would result from the resolution and rejoin after it has been coded. Many players resign permanently in protest because they disapprove of the direction the NSUN is going in with the resolution. There are also many players who wish to avoid the ill effects of NSUN membership on their nation while retaining the gameplay benefits of NSUN membership. These players generally create a puppet nation and join the UN with it rather than their primary nation. (You can create a puppet nation by going to the NationStates Main Page (http://www.nationstates.net) and clicking on the Create Nation link.) You can also deal with a passed resolution you disagree with using roleplay. [unfinished]

One question I've been debating with myself over is whether I should include the Defending/Invading stuff. What do y'all think?

Defending and invading is game mechanics. Leave it there.

As for this: I would include a list of arguements not given respect. It saves time and effort if they bother to read.

Defending and invading is game mechanics. Leave it there.

That's what I thought too, at first. But then was writing the stuff about reasons for joining the UN and thought about including it. I'll wait and see what everyone has to say before making a final decision on it.

As for this: I would include a list of arguements not given respect. It saves time and effort if they bother to read.

If I were writing a "Practical Guide to Debating in the UN Forum" I would make such a list. This is just for the UN as a whole. That's a good suggestion, though. :)

That's what I thought too, at first. But then was writing the stuff about reasons for joining the UN and thought about including it. I'll wait and see what everyone has to say before making a final decision on it.

The main reason why I say not to include it is the fact it's more of a curse than a benefit and often the invaders get little done before being removed from power.

If I were writing a "Practical Guide to Debating in the UN Forum" I would make such a list. This is just for the UN as a whole. That's a good suggestion, though. :)

Considering the arguements are common problems...

One question I've been debating with myself over is whether I should include the Defending/Invading stuff. What do y'all think?

It is a part of the game. You made a brief mentioning of it, but truth be told, it makes the game dynamic for some players.

I don't see too many invaders here, but telegram loop and ask him for some advice. He may be able to point you to some invader/defenders and they can tell you why they join the UN.

One question I've been debating with myself over is whether I should include the Defending/Invading stuff. What do y'all think?

I think it's a viable part of the game and the UN. I honestly don't believe a lot of the people in the UN would be members if UN membership weren't related to regional power, and, thus, defending/invading.

Too, the genre of UN lawmaking and debate is a response to the rhetorical situation of UN law and its power over member nations ("what are strategies to make other countries more like me?" or "what strategies can be used to make laws I would like to see passed?"). If there are members who have the possibility of voting or passing such UN law (I mean, "if there are UN members"), who aren't responding to that rhetorical situation (instead, they're in the UN to respond to the situation of invading/defending), then it makes for a fairly substantial division--perhaps partially explaining the so-called "lemming effect"--definitely providing a significant exception to UN "lawmaking" genre and its characteristics (which I suppose this guide to be primarily targeted at explaining). Maybe it should only be a side note, but I do think something about invading/defending should be included.

I personally like it the way it is, though if I could make one suggestion you may want to include some of the complaints that come up from time to time here, like "what if the UN passes something I don't like?", because those things are usually on the minds of a lot of people in the UN.

Oh, and you may want to raise the issue of UN Puppets. As you, DLE and I have learned, they're very useful when we want to maintain our nation the way we want it to be and still have a say in the UN (at least that's the way I look at it).

Oh, and you may want to raise the issue of UN Puppets. As you, DLE and I have learned, they're very useful when we want to maintain our nation the way we want it to be and still have a say in the UN (at least that's the way I look at it).

Yes, Please. As a n00b, I've only read (very briefly) about puppets - all I know is that they exist, and not how to create them nor how to use them to one's advantage.

Alright. I'll add the puppets thing and a "How do I deal with the UN passing something I don't like" section. I'm still thinking about whether to add something more significant about the invading/defending stuff.

Thanks y'all! Great ideas. :)